Another Chronicle of Sorrows hint request came over the weekend. I haven’t posted about the contest in a while, so maybe I should rectify that.
As of this posting, the Chronicle of Sorrows game is still unsolved! (Though, thanks to the magic of Google Analytics, I see folks are making good progress.) The first person to successfully access the contents of John Stephenson’s desk is elegible to win a signed advanced review copy of Bitter Seeds. (I say eligible because I recognize that some folks might not want an ARC. And I’m not about to force somebody to take one.)
A summary of the game, and some suggestions, below the cut.
I’ve posted about Chronicle of Sorrows here, here, and here. Additionally, Richard Mueller (the mad genius behind Chronicle of Sorrows and this very website!) has also posted the first steps in a walkthrough.
Here are the basics:
- The goal of the game is to find the three pieces of login information for Stephenson’s desk.
- Those pieces of information are hidden among a sequence of pages that have been ripped from this journal.
- The journal entries, when read in order, tell a story set in the Milkweed universe of Bitter Seeds, and fill in a bit of backstory about a particular doctor and a particular orphanage.
- In order to find the missing pages, you’ll have to snoop around on this website. Be sure to tinker with every interactive tidbit you can find. And if you get stuck, consider asking the homunculus for help. (The interactive bits use flash. So, if you have a flash blocker installed, you may want to whitelist this doman while you’re playing. If you don’t have flash installed, you’ll need it to play along. Sorry.)
- Each successfully decoded clue unlocks another journal entry (or, in some cases, a sequence of entries). New entries contain new clues. Read carefully. Note that the journal pages don’t necessarily come in chronological order. (What would be the fun in that?)
- The game begins with three unlocked journal pages. Each of these pages contains clues that open a separate “path” in the game. You’ll need to follow all three paths to completion in order to open Stephenson’s desk. (We use cookies to keep track of which journal entries you’ve opened. So, if you delete your cookies and come back later, you’ll have to retrace your steps. But once you know what you’re doing, retracing is very quick.)
- Clicking on the date line at the top right corner of a journal entry will either expand or contract that entry, for your convenience.
- Some clues are easier than others. Obtaining some journal pages is very straightforward. Obtaining others is a multi-step process.
- I recommend keeping notes. If you saw the answer key that’s sitting beside me right now, you’d understand why.
Have fun!